The present invention relates to internal combustion engines having a rotating crankshaft mounted on a main bearing and an oil pump which is driven by the crankshaft. In particular, the invention relates to engines having an oil pump which is a rotary pump having one or two gears located in the same plane and surrounding the crankshaft.
It has been known to provide internal combustion engines with oil pumps that are either indirectly driven, thus adding to the overall bulk, weight, number of parts and inaccessibility of primary engine parts, or to increase the length of the crankshaft and provide a rotary type oil pump of the type described in German Offenlegungsschrift No. 1,576,345. This latter type of oil pump adds to the length of the overall engine and to the bulk and weight of the engine by the necessary crankshaft extension required to add the oil pump.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved oil pump which eliminates the need for an indirectly driven oil pump mounted on the engine.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a new rotary style oil pump capable of being driven by the rotation of the crankshaft which eliminates the need for an extension of the crankshaft and thus creates an internal combustion engine of shorter structural length and lighter weight than heretofore known in the art.